Former diplomats help students

Retired Chinese ambassadors vowed to pass on their valuable diplomatic experience to university students during a recent dialogue at Tianjin Foreign Studies University on Dec 6.

The event, bringing together 18 ambassadors born and educated in the North China municipality of Tianjin, was jointly organized by the Tianjin Foreign Affairs Office and the university. Before the dialogue, the ambassadors had a roundtable meeting.

Ma Keqing, former Chinese ambassador to Finland, the Philippines and the Czech Republic, said at the roundtable that "despite being retirees, we have time and a lot of ideas that we could share with local students".

"Our experience could serve as concrete supplements to the textbooks and their curriculum studies," Ma said.

Echoing her words, Zhao Yali, former ambassador to Greece, said: "I studied the Greek language, and many of our retired counterparts studied Thai, Finnish and other languages, which only a relatively small number of people in China have studied. I hope to share my understanding and knowledge of the language with students and their teachers at the universities."

The retired ambassadors were warmly welcomed by students at the university, who attended the dialogue and the former ambassadors answered their many questions.

Huang Wei, a student from the International Relations School, asked about foreigners' impression of Chinese people.

"I was especially impressed by Guan Mu, former Chinese ambassador to Thailand and Cambodia," Huang said after the dialogue.

"For example, Guan told many stories about some local Southeast Asian people who believed that they had remote blood connections with the Chinese people."

Another student, Liu Zongying, from the School of Translation and Interpretation, asked Ma how she helped boost cross-cultural communications during her career as a diplomat.

Ma initiated the signature event of "Happy Spring Festival" many years ago in Finland, and helped the festival brand thrive around the world.

She shared her experience of the last two years of her ambassadorial career in the Philippines.

"I frequently went to nursing homes in the country, taking radios to the senior people because I knew in the Philippines, people favor listening to the radio," she said.

"To have some profound insights of foreigners' preference is a key edge or requirement for our work. We took many basketballs to local universities, because the local youth love the sport."

Yu Jiang, deputy president of the university, said it will continue launching similar events to boost communication between students and the former diplomats.

The event was part of the university's ongoing academic cultural exchange season that opened at Tianjin Foreign Studies University last month, with a theme of "translating and transcending civilizations".

A series of events are being held until the end of this year. Domestic and foreign experts and scholars will share their insights on topics such as the development among Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province, and Tianjin's "going global" initiatives.

Cultural festivals featuring different countries and an exhibition of the major achievements of the university since its founding 55 years ago are being presented on the sidelines.

Tianjin Foreign Studies University has majors in 34 foreign languages and has taken the lead in China's foreign language and literature education.